United States v. Williams

Opinion of the Court

In an apparent misstatement to the court members regarding their deliberations on the charges, the military judge in this case instructed that “the elements of the two charges that are to be voted upon should be determined by the president subject to objection by a majority of the court.”

The standard instruction suggested by the Military Judges’ Guide1 is that “the order in which the several charges and specifications are to be voted upon should be determined by the president subject to objection by a majority of the court.” Previously the military judge had instructed the…